episode_0209

Although he was confused by Jin’s command, he was about to pull the lift of the castle gate to comply with the order, when Hermel came up and threw the soldier who was pulling the lift backwards.

The castle gate, which had been opening slowly, was closed again, and someone who tried to crawl inside the slightly raised iron gate was crushed by the fallen iron gate, split in half, and died.

“What are you doing!!”

Ceria shouted and approached Hermel, and Hermel frowned and responded.

“What are you doing? It’s about protecting the lives of the capital’s citizens, soldiers, and myself. Why, is there a problem?”

“There are people over there!! I’m begging you to save me, to help me just once!”

Hermel laughed at Ceria’s words and glared at Ceria.

“So? How can we be sure that those guys will come into the capital and do nothing? It looks like a lot of people have died now because they’re covered in that mud, but if more than 10,000 people enter the capital and start rampaging, who’s going to stop them? Who will compensate for the damage suffered as a result? Who treats the injured? What if the corpses pile up and a plague begins to spread? Who will take responsibility if there are casualties?”

“That’s… … .”

“Even if they come in and do nothing, how are they going to provide for themselves when food is not coming from anywhere? Even if all the warehouses in the capital are opened, if that number starts to eat up, it won’t last even a week.”

Ceria couldn’t respond with her mouth open, and Hermel glared at Ceria and growled.

“Don’t show off. It’s none of my business to go out of my way to help people. But don’t endanger other people’s lives by doing something you can’t take responsibility for, idiot.”

Hermel, who shouted and pushed Seria away, approached Jin, who was trembling with his forehead resting, and called out to him.

“Jin.”

Jin opened his eyes with difficulty at the call and looked at Hermel.

Hermel was not laughing, angry, or irritated now. His face was as peaceful as a calm lake. But it was not because he was as calm as his face showed.

It was just a blank expression that came about because his anger had gone far beyond his limit.

“Explain. right now. Otherwise, I might get a little angry.”

Jin also knew what he had done, so he held back the terrible headache that felt like his eyeballs were going to fall out and pointed with his finger at the bottom of the castle wall.

At the place Jin pointed to, there was mud slowly but steadily moving towards the royal capital.

“To stop that, we have to save at least one more person… … .”

Hermel was so angry that his head felt hot, but the moment he laid eyes on the mud that Jin pointed to, he had no choice but to accept Jin’s words.

“To be precise, only then can it be prevented… … . The spirits are still whispering.”

“… … .”

The mud that flowed in from the east of the royal capital was filled with what looked like a human face, swelling like a bubble, then collapsing, and growing arms and legs, scraping the ground and moving forward, repeatedly.

It looked like clay, but it was something horribly twisted, as if it had been scraped straight from the bottom of hell.

“Of course, no matter how many people there are, it would not be enough to prevent something like that.”

After saying that, Hermel grabbed the neck of the armor Jin was wearing and lifted Jin’s body upright.

“But that is that and this is this.”

Hermel said that and lightly pushed Jin away.

“Once the situation is resolved, you will be charged, so prepare yourself.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Jin bowed his head and answered, and Hermel looked at Jin for a moment, then turned his back and looked down at the bottom of the castle wall.

More than 90% of the people were covered in mud, but because the absolute number of rebels was significant, it was a significant number even though more than 90% were wiped out.

“… … Tsk.”

Hermel looked down at the scene for a moment and was about to open his mouth when Jin came up and stood in front of Hermel as if blocking him.

Hermel frowned and looked at Jin as if asking what he was doing, and Jin nodded and answered.

“I will do it. I did it, so I have to take responsibility.”

“… … Do whatever you want.”

Hermel snorted and quietly stepped back, and Jin lightly raised his hand. It was a signal to prepare for attack.

Soldiers everywhere pointed their weapons, from ballistas to bows and mangonels, at the rebels.

“What, what! Why all of a sudden… … !!”

One of the rebels who was looking up at the castle wall at the front shouted like that, and Seria couldn’t help but be shocked at this sudden situation.

“Why, why are you doing this!! Until just now… … !!”

“Until a while ago, we were killing each other, so shouldn’t we also put a minimum leash on each other?”

Jin said that and shouted down the castle wall.

“Hand over the rebel leader and his associates! If so, I will open the gate and let you into the castle!!”

The rebels murmured for a moment, but soon began to move busily, pushing out a man and a woman from among them.

Cromwell, the leader of the rebel army, and Lorraine, his chief of staff.

-here! These guys, these guys have bewitched us!!

-This bastard is the leader!

-That witch tricked us! We did nothing wrong!!

Cromwell gritted his teeth at the ugly accusations of those on the verge of death, and Lauren lowered her head as if she had given up.

Jin saw it and threw a rope down the castle wall.

“Tie them up.”

They tied Cromwell and Lauren indiscriminately with the rope they had received, and after confirming that the two were completely subdued, Jin winked at the soldier standing in front of the lift.

-Open the castle gate!!

With that cry, the tightly closed castle gate opened, and rebels poured into the royal capital.

Hermel, who had been looking down with sharp eyes at the rebels entering the capital, narrowed his eyes and turned away, and Seria sighed in relief, thankful that so many people survived.

Jin touched his forehead as he was tormented by a spirit screaming and talking about what was to come next, and the soldiers frowned at the fact that the people who had been pointing spears and knives at each other just moments before were right in front of them.

And the faces of the rebels who entered the royal capital were not filled with fear at having entered enemy territory or joy at having succeeded in the operation, but only with relief at having survived.

-Now I’m alive!!

-I lived… … . thank you… … . thank you… … !!

―Ugh, huh… … . I really thought it would end like this… … .

thud–

The open gate was closed only after every last rebel who had not touched the mud was brought in.

* * *

It’s so funny.

I can’t believe that people who turn their palms over so easily in the face of death are my colleagues.

I sighed as I watched Cromwell being dragged into the royal capital, tied by the hands of his colleague.

“… … It’s over soon.”

I achieved everything I wanted. There are some things that have not yet been accomplished, but they will naturally come true over time anyway.

The crown prince’s heart was broken and he gave up everything, including his power, and even if he changed his mind and stood up again, the messed up kingdom would soon collapse.

[What should I do… … .]

Well, even if it doesn’t collapse, the royal authority may fall to the ground because the previous king ran away, or else the monarchy may be completely eliminated and a republic may be established.

[iced coffee… … . thank god. I’m really glad that these people are alive… … .]

Because there is Seria, a democratic republic could be established. Either way, it is a given that the moment another country invades, it will disappear from history or become a vassal state.

[Hehe, uhuhuh… … . sister… … .]

The nobles died at the hands of the rebels, and the central nobles ran away with the king and were eaten by mud, losing all their memories and becoming ruined.

[It can’t end like this… … !! I can’t end it like this… … . Ah, mother. missing child… … .]

Cromwell could not get the revenge he wanted and was betrayed by the rebels I had gathered. I killed the rebels with my own hands and that was enough.

[Black mud? End of the world? Stop saying such nonsense!!]

The church was not particularly touched, but this incident will prove their incompetence, so there is no problem here either.

The ones that are left have all died or gone crazy… … .

It’s really over now.

From one to ten. From beginning to end. From the first death to this episode.

It was so long

“Haha.”

I tried to force myself to laugh, but I only made noises and couldn’t really laugh.

Will I feel at least a little relieved once all my revenge is over? I wondered if I would feel a sense of accomplishment if everything I planned worked out as planned, but as expected, that didn’t happen.

Everything I had done so far felt meaningless. I felt empty inside.

I completely achieved the revenge I wanted, but strangely enough, I didn’t feel good at all.

I wasn’t happy, nor was I relieved.

“… … .”

I definitely swore at first that I would become evil.

I laughed so much that my stomach hurt and I was able to laugh and trample on other people’s pain.

At some point, I even felt that killing people and forcing distorted affection were enjoyable.

“Ha… … .”

But now, just thinking about it makes my stomach turn. The sins of that day were eating away at me.

I thought that guilt had long ago been thrown away along with humanity. But no. They were inside me all along.

I was just trying to ignore it because I was afraid that the moment I faced it and accepted it, it would really break down.

—Because I’m Charles’ friend.

It wasn’t a target of revenge, it was just a bad relationship that I met in passing in the previous episode that changed me so much.

You were truly ignorant, single-minded, and the type of person who had to push ahead with whatever he had decided on before he could be satisfied.

No, because he was such an upright person, he was able to straighten me out of my twisted state.

“Okay… … . I think I understand now, why I didn’t feel anything even after I achieved everything.”

Because the reason and meaning of my life is no longer revenge.

I was just doing it out of a sense of duty to take full responsibility for what I had done, so that’s why I did it.

“Fuhu… … .”

I smiled at the blonde hair fluttering before my eyes and looked up at the sky that was so clear it hurt my eyes.

“… … I can’t go back now.”

okay… … . You knew from the beginning what the answer would be anyway.

All I will leave behind is notoriety. There is nothing else. This is a role I chose with my own hands, so I have to take on it until the end.

I wiped my smile with a sigh and looked down at the mud slowly moving towards the royal road, as if wet paper was burning.

“I’ll wait.”

I said those words and quietly closed my eyes to wait for the person I was waiting for to come here.

Here, east of the royal capital, at the top of the Bneron Mountains.